Musings!

Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) meets a tiny Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) in THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958)

One of the first Fantasy movies to be released in the 1950s that captured the imagination of the public and the genre pretty much remained in Hollywood ever since. Today, nearly all big movies are fantasy, comic book adventures, Harry Potter, etc. HERCULES, released in Italy in 1958 but in 1959 in North America, solidified this interest. Kathryn married Bing Crosby in 1957 and was later known as Kathryn Crosby but is credited under her stage name Grant for this movie. This was Kerwin's biggest break as an actor and he made a bunch of other Fantasy films but he wanted to star in 'serious' movies. One of three Sinbad movies with special effects provided by Ray Harryhausen.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Belgian poster of THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ADAM AND EVE (1960) 

Cute. 

Image of the week!

Ramses (Armando Francioli). prince of Upper Egypt, confronts Akis (Linda Cristal), now Queen of Lower Egypt, in THE PHARAOHS' WOMAN (1960)

At the movies...

Yul Brynner arrives at the Criterion Theatre for the premiere of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956)

Musings!

Eve (Mamie Van Doren) and Adam (Martin Milner) in THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ADAM AND EVE (1960)

The story, like so many other Adam and Eve movies, starts in the modern world where travellers, while stuck in Reno and go through some bad weather, start dreaming about the beginning of time with Adam and Eve. With hip 'beatnik' style dialogue, the movie is pretty odd combo of everything. The movie is babes galore, with Van Doren, Tuesday Weld and Fay Spain, as Lilith, providing endless cheesecake. A young Milner provides the beefcake. Mickey Rooney plays the devil (with a BBQ). Mel Tormé is also in it! Almost as odd as THE STORY OF MANKIND (1957). 

Behind-the-Scenes

Steve Reeves and Sylva Koscina relaxing on the set of HERCULES (1958)

Clip of the week: KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE

Kira (Rosalba Neri) pines for Kindar (Mark Forest) in KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE (1965)

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from LEGIONS OF THE NILE (1959) 

Excellent matte paintings by Emilio Ruiz del Río, who worked on movies all the way to PAN'S LABYRINTH (2006). As good as they are, in a rare instance, you can clearly see the delineation on the left and right in the image above. I can wait to see this in HD. 

 

AI generated PEPLUM worlds

With the new advent of AI technology, which is capable of creating imagery with just a few prompts, a whole new set of PEPLUM worlds are emerging. I tried it myself and well I wasn't too impressed by the output. So much so that I uninstalled the app from my phone. But others out there are capable of generating really complex and detailed images which is quite astounding. I wish I knew the trick to get such amazing images. I would create my own PEPLUM stories. Many of these are on TikTok. Remember, you don't need to know how to draw. Everything was conceived by AI.

An AI generated image of Spartacus. The image talks (with moving lips), retelling his story.

Above and below: Someone asked AI how the Trojan War looked like and this is what it came up with. Pretty amazing.

 

 

Another image recreated by AI for an (adult) series on the internet. Imagine an entire PEPLUM movie like this. No limit to the imagination.

Of course, it can't replace reality. Even though some images are extremely detailed and photo realistic, most imagery still looks like computer generated art. But it's fun that the PEPLUM genre continues to fascinate with every new technological advances.

Musings!

Pontius Pilate (Lowell Gilmore) interrogates Jesus (Robert Wilson) in DAY OF TRIUMPH (1954)

Interesting Biblical movie in which Jesus is finally portrayed and not just a mysterious presence as it was in most Biblical movies at the time, including BEN-HUR (1959). So, in this regard the movie was a breakthrough of sorts. It's stagey but the script is pretty good for its low budget. It's runtime is supposed to be 1 hour and 50 minutes but most uploads have it at 1 hour and 47 minutes. My copy, though, is at 1 hour 56 minutes. The director died months before the movie was completed and released. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

French movie poster of SANDOKAN THE GREAT (1963) 

Simple and yet colourful poster featuring Steve Reeves 

Image of the week!

Queen Zenobia (Anita Ekberg) enjoys a feast in SIGN OF THE GLADIATOR (1959)

MUSCLES Inc.

 Two PEPLUM stars on one cover: Reg Park and Steve Reeves!

Musings!

The cast of GOLD FOR THE CAESARS (1963): Jeffrey Hunter, Massimo Girotti and Mylene Demongeot.

One of the more serious PEPLUM movies made during the Golden Age of the genre. Less action, more drama, even though there is action in it. The location filming makes the movie. As serious as it it, they couldn't escape from the anachronistic hairstyles of Mylene in this movie. All three actors are excellent in it. I like it. It seems Riccardo Freda was unofficial co-director of the movie and his finger prints are everywhere in it. It's a very Freda movie. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Steve Reeves and Virna Lisi on the set of DUEL OF THE TITANS (1961). Reeves is the water boy?

Clip of the week: SLAVE QUEEN OF BABYLON (1963)

John Ericson vs Jeff Cameron (with another actor). With Yvonne Furneaux and Germano Longo. From a Fan Dub I made.

HD Alert!

Yvonne Furneaux as Semiramis in SLAVE QUEEN OF BABYLON (1963)

New German Blu-ray edition is now available. The movie already had a Blu-ray release from Germany but the quality was apparently disappointing. I don't know if this release is a major upgrade. The screenshot above is not from any of these HD releases. I like this movie. I even made a Fan Dub of it which has been copied all over the internet. This new German release doesn't include the English audio track. Only Italian and German. I don't know if I'm going to buy it. It comes in two different covers (below).

 

Vintage Article

Vintage article on Steve Reeves and his career from THE YOUNG PHYSIQUE magazine published in 1961. It's just photos of his bodybuilding career and his movie roles.

 

 

Musings!

Fatma (Helga Liné) tries to seduce Goliath (Peter Lupus) in GOLIATH AT THE CONQUEST OF DAMASCUS (1965)

One of 4 PEPLUM movies Pete did back in the 1960s. This movie is a Twin Production with HERCULES AND THE TYRANTS OF BABYLON (1964), which also stars Helga. Unlike the TYRANTS OF BABYLON, this movie has never had a great print available. It's a shame. The original Italian title is GOLIATH AT THE CONQUEST OF BAGHDAD. I don't why the change was made. The movie uses scenes from SODOM AND GOMORRAH (1962). Both Peter and Helga are still with us.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of ROLAND THE MIGHTY (1956) 

Great, colourful poster. 

Image of the week!

Angelica (Rosanna Schiaffino) and Roland (Rik Battaglia) ride off into the sunset in ROLAND THE MIGHTY (1956)

Lobby Cards Set: THE 300 SPARTANS (1962)

US lobby cards set of THE 300 SPARTANS starring Richard Egan, Diane Baker and others. Good set but it needed one with Richard Egan, who's great in it. Card # 5 is the best of the bunch. 

Musings!

Ali Baba (Iloosh Khoshabe) sees the sacred crown for the first time in ALI BABA AND THE SACRED CROWN (1962)

During this scene, the crown is taken from a chest by a muscular assistant who carries it to the old man. The assistant is Pietro Torrisi. He's not credited in the movie or at IMDb. There are always these little finds in PEPLUM movies that make them fun to watch. I like this movie but the pacing is very relaxed.
 

Behind-the-Scenes

 Lang Jeffries trying out a donkey on the set of REVOLT OF THE SLAVES (1960)

Clip of the week: ALONE AGAINST ROME

Gladiator action with Lang Jeffries. Also with Rossana Podesta and Philippe Leroy 

SPFX DEPT.

Richard Harrison confronts man-eating plants in AVENGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1962)

What is a somewhat serious adventure movie turns into horror movie with man-eating plants, looking like huge Venus fly traps, start eating people with Harrison to the rescue. The special effects are somewhat convincing but the design of these plants is somewhat lacking. They look like waffle makers. Anyway, it's one of the highlights of the movie for sure. Special effects is credited to Giovanni Corridori. I'm not sure if he's the one responsible for the puppetry of these killer plants.

Then & Now: Philippe Leroy

 Philippe in ALONE AGAINST ROME (1962); a recent photo of the actor

Musings!

Rossana Podestà and Philippe Leroy are tormented 'lovers' in ALONE AGAINST ROME (1962)

That's Djordje Nenadovic on the right. This movie is often overlooked in regards to the PEPLUM genre even though it has everything going for it: excellent production values, cinematography, music, cast, etc. The story is a bit unmemorable and maybe the main reason why it's overlooked. The tormented relation between Leroy and Podesta gets a bit boring after a while. Lang Jeffries is the lead actor and this might also be another reason. Though competent enough, Lang is not the most expressive actor of the PEPLUM genre. But the rest is excellent, including supporting actors. The gladiator action and setting is some of the best, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. It's my favourite part of the movie. Gladiator scenes were reused in other movies, including FALL OF ROME (1963).

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Spanish poster of MESSALINA, MESSALINA (1977) 

"The fun love affairs of the most insatiable man-eater" is the tagline in English.

PEPLUM Break!

I love doing this blog but it takes a lot of my time. I take a break roughly every two months so this is that time again.

So stay tuned!

I'll leave you now with King Leonidas (Richard Egan) from THE 300 SPARTANS (1962), saying "From this wall, we do not retreat!"